Charvel Blog

Archive for April 22nd, 2016

Charvel signature artist Joe Duplantier and his French metal act Gojira are getting the weekend off to a killer start, with the release of a new video for new single “Stranded.” The band also released the album cover art for Magma, dropping June 17.

Directed by Vincent Caldoni, the sepia video features the band performing live indoors, but also other strange imagery including a woman dancing wildly, smashing a pile of eggs and then painting the guys’ faces. Combined, the beautifully shot footage conveys a sense of feeling trapped and desperation.

The wait is nearly over for Gorjira’s highly-anticipated sixth studio album, Magma. The French metal band just announced both its name and a June 17 release, also accompanied by an audio sample.

Fans have been chomping at the bit for the follow up to 2012’s L’Enfant Sauvage, but the band has been very vocal about explaining their four-year recording process. The unfortunate loss of Joe and Mario Duplantier’s mother in July 2015 delayed writing sessions, but eventually would provide the emotional material for the album.

The ten tracks were recorded at the brother’s New York-based Silver Cord Studios, and seemed to be a very cathartic experience. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Joe Duplantier opened up about the studio sessions, saying, “Mario was recording drums, and I was playing guitar with him, just trying to help him know where he’s at in the song, and both of us would start crying at the same time.”

Check out the teaser below to get a sneak peak of what to expect from the imminent release.

A new behind-the-scenes video for the Hans Zimmer Live tour, which kicked off April 6 in London, takes viewers through the first few days of rehearsals as Zimmer and his 77-piece orchestra get ready for what looks to be a phenomenal show.

Included in the festivities is Charvel artist Guthrie Govan, who can be seen a few times throughout the package with his signature model.

“He sent me a Facebook message and I didn’t believe it was him,” Govan revealed. “I get some fairly weird Facebook messages, sometimes people seem a bit like stalkers or whatever. So I replied to this, ‘You’re probably some 14-year-old kid looking for my email address, please don’t waste my time.”

Zimmer apparently wrote back, saying, “No it really is me the dodgy German film composer, I found you on YouTube, I love what you do with a fretless guitar. Do you want to be in my band?”

“So I was like okay maybe it really is him,” shared Govan. “I just find it funny that I nearly blew the whole thing by refusing to believe it was actually Hans. It just seemed so implausible that someone in his musical world would know about what I do because I’m kind of a specialized player. But that’s what he does, he watches YouTube. He’s always looking for new musicians, new inspirations stuff like that. He’s a great guy to work with.”